Why Do Bees Make Hexagons?
The Big Idea
Step inside the hive to solve a mathematical mystery. Discover why honeybees chose the hexagon as their ultimate storage shape, and how it allows them to use the least amount of wax for the most amount of honey.
Key Vocabulary & Concepts

Hands-On Observation Checklist
Teacher & Parent Discussion Starters
- Why is understanding why do bees make hexagons? important in everyday real life?
- What variable or factor had the biggest impact when testing the simulation?
- How does this concept connect to another science topic you have learned about?
Related Wonders
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Journey into the night to discover the incredible biological sonar of bats. Learn how these masters of the dark use high-frequency sound waves to 'see' their surroundings, navigate pitch-black forests, and hunt tiny mosquitoes at 40 miles per hour.
How Do Bees Make Honey?
Step inside the busy hive to witness the incredible chemical transformation of watery nectar into liquid gold. Discover how specialized enzymes and the rhythmic wing-fanning of thousands of worker bees create the only food produced by insects that humans eat.
How Do Fish Breathe Underwater?
Dive beneath the surface to explore the engineering genius of gills. Discover the elegant biological system that allows fish to pull invisible, life-saving oxygen directly out of the water, enabling them to thrive in an environment where we could never survive.
